Open Your Eyes
by aliaslover14
Summary: She can't choose which hurts her the most, the throbbing head wound, his sudden lack of concern for her, or-probably worst of all-the fact that it is all fundamentally her fault.
1. Kate

Open Your Eyes

Chapter 1

**_All this feels strange and untrue  
And I won't waste a minute without you  
My bones ache, my skin feels cold  
And I'm getting so tired and so old _**

**_Open Your Eyes-Snow Patrol_**

_Fuck._

The expletive practically rings in her head, but she whispers it anyway.

Her cranium is swelling with pain and she can only gasp and groan as reality slowly comes into focus.

What the hell happened?

Gasping for breath through the still thick fog clouding her consciousness, she hears a voice.

"Hey, hey, hey it's okay."

She moves then, hitting the unknown, but solid form behind her. When had it gotten there? _Who……?_

"Hey. It's alright, it's okay."

Jack.

She relaxes minutely as soon as the voice registers. It was Jack, her friend, protector and if she was honest, the focus of all her lustful thoughts.

He's still talking to her, moving her arm as if he was trying to get her to turn towards him. He must be crazy. The pain in her head has now given way to an intense nausea threatened by any sort of movement. If she could actually form words she would tell him, but her voice left as soon as the pain had appeared.

"It's okay. Alright, come on. Just take it easy."

He has control now; already he's managed to move her onto her back and has checked her eyes for some unknown indication of okay-ness. She groans again as she blinks her eyes open permanently, no longer clothed in a peaceful darkness. The jungle seems louder somehow, every sound amplified to an uncomfortable decibel.

"I'll go get her some water."

Juliet? Jack and Juliet together? She writes off the implications as momentarily unimportant because Jack is pulling her into a sitting position, his arm supporting her back.

"What happened?"

He didn't even seem surprised at her circumstances. Was she really always this prone to trouble? She wants to answer the question. Conversing with him in any manner now is a pleasure she holds onto selfishly. However, her grasp of the English language escapes her, his arms offering a pleasurable distraction. When was the last time he had touched her this intimately? Oh, yes, it was when she stole the Satellite Phone out of his back pocket. Didn't that just define their relationship?

Glancing at her surroundings, it registers that he is waiting for a response.

"I was going back to the beach and," she pauses then; dizziness overpowering her need to explain. Managing it she continues, "I ran into Faraday and that woman um?"

Name, what was her name? It was probably the concussion, but the little detail escaping her was annoying and disconcerting. Cherry? No….it was like a….a.. character in a book or something. What was it? Charlene? No. No. Charlotte. It was Charlotte!

"Charlotte."

After spitting out the name her hand finds it way back to her head delving into a sticky substance. Was that blood? It wouldn't surprise her. She had handled enough guns in her time to know that the business end of them could do significant damage.

Gently, his hand wraps around hers, lightly detaching it from her hair, only to replace it with a rag. The tender spot pulses slightly louder when he adds pressure to it, but she ignores it. She wouldn't risk making him remove his hands.

Abruptly, a question comes to her, and she finds that she mutters it out loud before her brain can stop it.

"Why did she hit me?"

What had she been talking to Faraday about that would have made Charlotte respond with violence? Before she can voice her second question Jack attempts to put the pieces together.

"They disappeared out of camp last night. We've been trying to catch up to them."

They. Jack and Juliet. Together.

She fought down another bout of nausea.

"Do you know where they were headed?"

He was searching for something in his backpack now. Distracted, his answer comes in broken segments.

"Some sorta..."

He unzips another compartment.

"Power station."

Power station? Why would they need? Wait, gas masks. She had found gas masks in Faradays bag!

"Jack?"

He finally meets her eyes, apparently giving up on his search through the tattered bag.

"They had gas masks."

She watches his face as close as her eyes will allow. Waiting for a reaction or indication of what they should do next. His answer is worse than another blow to the head.

"Juliet?"

Of course he would call for her. She was his new other half. His partner in crime. Goose to his Maverick. White to her rice….she stops when she sees him move to get up, still calling her name.

"Juliet!"

She can't choose which hurts her the most, the throbbing head wound, his sudden lack of concern for her, or, probably worst of all, the fact that it is all fundamentally her fault.

She was truly and rightfully _fucked_.

**_The anger swells in my gut  
And I won't feel these slices and cuts  
I want so much to open your eyes  
Cos I need you to look into mine..._**


	2. Jack

Chapter 2

**_Get up, get out, get away from these liars  
Cos they don't get your soul or your fire  
Take my hand, knot your fingers through mine  
And we'll walk from this dark room for the last time_**

**_Open Your Eyes- Snow Patrol_**

_Mother fuck._

The vulgar coupling was the only phrase he could articulate when he saw her body. Just tossed in the dirt like an unsalvageable sack potatoes. Sparing only a brief glance at Juliet he jogs over to her, almost sliding in the wet mud.

"Hey, hey, hey it's okay."

The words were meaningless. She obviously wasn't okay and telling her she was didn't seem to alleviate her agitation. Still, he continued to speak to her as he examined what he could see of her wound.

"Hey. It's alright, it's okay."

Her arm flails as she searches for the source of the voice and touch. It makes him physically ill to see her like this. Weak and….

_Broken. _

He knows logically, medically, that she will be just fine. Head wounds were something to watch, but usually resulted in a headache and some soreness. He needed to find the source of the blood though; it was possible she would need stitches.

After making sure her eyes were reactive and that she hadn't blown a pupil he moved his arm around her back. She gasped again as he lifted her into a sitting position.

"Alright, come on. Just take it easy."

He try's to help her register her location by giving her a second to look around. She is probably nauseous as hell, but he knows it's important to get her moving soon, it will help the soreness later.

"I'll go get her some water."

His head turned at the voice and he was briefly embarrassed that he had forgotten about Juliet. Without even offering her an apologetic smile—it wouldn't have mattered—he agrees and returns his focus to Kate.

"Yeah, thanks."

Once he was sure she would be fine sitting up on her own, he unwraps his arms and picks up his bag. Before leaving camp he had put in a fresh rag just in case of an injury.

"What happened?"

He asks the question not only because he wants to know the answer, but also because he hasn't heard her speak yet, that in its self could indicate a problem. She takes a breath and then responds slowly.

"I was going back to the beach and," he waits while she closes her eyes. Back to the beach? So soon? He had assumed that she had stayed at Locke's camp for Sawyer and hadn't thought she would be coming back. He dismisses the thought when she starts again, "I ran into Faraday and that woman um?"

Charlotte. The woman's name was Charlotte, but as much as he wanted to offer the information to her as some kind of gift wrapped in a white flag, he knew she needed to remember it on her own. It would help him gauge the damage from the blow. He kept himself busy by removing his white rag from the front pouch of his backpack, moving it to her head.

"Charlotte."

The name escapes her lips slowly, but surely. Good. She remembered, he grasped her small hand gently and placed by her side.

"Why did she hit me?"

He shakes his head without thinking, the fact that she couldn't see him irrelevant. He was tired of this crap. They had been on the island for weeks. Why couldn't they all just leave? Silencing his frustrated thoughts, he gives her what information he has.

"They disappeared out of camp last night. We've been trying to catch up to them."

Pressing the now red rag a bit firmer into the cut he waits for a response. Thankfully, she wouldn't need stitches. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was thread a sharp needle though her skin while she was conscious. He knew from experience, it hurt like a bitch. Deciding to instead just cover the cut with a band aid he turns to his bag and starts looking.

"Do you know where they were headed?"

Did it really matter? She had been brutally injured by these people. However, Kate was the most infuriately curious person he knew, so he replied anyway.

"Some sorta..."

Where were the damn band aids?

"Power station."

Still no band aids. Maybe he had left them at camp……"Jack?"

Surrendering the search, he meets her eyes for the first time.

"They had gas masks."

Gas masks? Why would they need gas masks? Was there something in the power station that would require masks? Juliet would know. Juliet. Where was she? He had completely forgotten about her; his concern for Kate a more pressing urge. She had said that she was going to get water. Which, now that he thought about it, was seriously messed up. His current girlfriend retrieving water for the injured love of his life was something that he would see in a soap opera.

"Juliet?"

He had to physically remove himself from her after seeing the look on her face. It was like he had punched her in the gut when he had said Juliet's name. Grabbing the gun he stood up and called out Juliet again. This was wrong, but this was what Kate had wanted. She had chosen Sawyer over him and this was the result.

Jogging lightly through the water he continued to search for Juliet. He hated what they had become, and even more what they hadn't become. He would still give anything if she would say those three pivotal words back to him. Her love the only thing in the world that would comfort him completely.

"Juliet!"

**_Tell me that you'll open your eyes_**

**_All this feels strange and untrue _**

**_And I won't waste a minute without you... _**


End file.
